Strands of Genius: Jaguar Rebrand, AI Eats The World, Scam Gran
Plus: defying gravity
WRITING FROM | Chattanooga, TN
WORKING ON | winding down the year and 2025 planning!
LOOKING AHEAD
Nov 5 - Dec 21 | Chattanooga, TN
Dec 21 - Jan 4 | Isla Mujeres, MX
:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::
We’d say winter is coming, but dang, it feels like winter is really here! Brrrr…
When I saw it would be dropping below freezing around Thanksgiving, I brought in a few of my favorite plants. But for the big guys, I thought I’d order some rollers so that I didn’t have to carry them around. Since they weren’t going to come until after Thanksgiving, I chanced it and… I definitely should have just brought the plants in! The minute I saw them, I brought them inside, and almost immediately pulled a muscle in my bicep (I don’t lift, bro) which is still feeling a little sore. The lush leaves on the hibiscus and alocasia all shriveled up but I pruned them the best I can, so I’m wondering if they will grow back to their pre-frozen lushness from *inside* my house, or if they’ll be sad little babes til next year.
Stay warm out there!
This week, we’re especially thankful for:
Thanksgiving ham, lamb & gravy, apricot casserole, broccoli casserole, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, cranberry mold, charcuterie plates, cousins, in-laws, outlaws, and especially Frank and his wine :) Sultans of Ping FC, Wolf 359, assembling furniture, sleep and sunny afternoons in the bracing cold.
:: THE LINKS ::
CLAWS ARE OUT WITH JAGUAR’S REBRAND & EV ENTRY
Ahead of their latest model of the EV, Jaguar underwent a rebrand. Their announcement teaser features a diverse group of neon clad models wandering around a weird desert space sorta environment. And then ends with the tagline ‘copy nothing’ with a new logo, sans cat. Of course, ad world has been in a tizzy. There has been so much discourse and it follows a very standard progression of affected outrage. From The Guardian, Geneva Abdul writes, “Copy nothing” may be standard woolly brandspeak, but it also reflects car companies’ tricky position. The global industry is going through an unprecedented change in the transition to electric. There is no existing playbook to copy.” Do you agree?! As we noted last week the strategic move “trying to sell fewer, more expensive cars” is being repliacted broadly as the middle class gets sliced up. (The Guardian)
UPDATE this is the apparently a leaked image of the car. A kind of Barbie Tesla?
‘AI EATS THE WORLD’ - BENEDICT EVANS’ PREDICTIONS
Each year, Benedict Evans puts together a doozy of a presentation, exploring macro trends in tech with loads of delicious charts and stats throughout. (Like how Shein is on track to become the the largest single retailer, currently trailing behind only TJX. Or how Shopify is powering $270bn of e-commerce — 35% the size of Amazon GMV.) This years is all about, you guessed it, AI, but hear me out, this isn’t one to miss. And if you happen to be more aural inclined, he’s recorded a few versions of this presentation. (Substack)
AI SCAM GRAN
Virgin’s O2 recently announced the newly appointed Head of Scammer Relations, Daisy. The catch? She’s an AI, designed to waste scammers time. I love this idea - and execution - so much! Unfortunately only Brits can forward calls to her, but here’s to hoping we’ll have our own AI-Granny in the US soon! (Virgin/O2)
Want to chat, comment, question, compliment?
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:: WICKED’S TINY DESK CONCERT ::
Have we seen Wicked on Broadway?! Yes! Multiple times. But have we seen Wicked in theater yet?! NO. Y’all I’m *dying* to go and we’ll absolutely be having a movie date night in the near future. In the meantime, I’m psyching myself up by listening to the soundtrack and I stumbled upon this Tiny Desk concert from just over a year ago, and it is delightful!
Let’s hold some space for those Defying Gravity lyrics ;)
If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.
rockON,
faris & rosie | your friends over at geniussteals.co
(still want more? @faris is still “tweeting” while @rosieyakob prefers instagram stories)
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. We have a distributed team ourselves, an accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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